SSO JOAT
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Posts posted by SSO JOAT
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Pure evil AND the dumbest thing I ever heard. What next? Relogging each multi-cache over and over again based on the number of stages in it?
Any day caches are part of the event as a whole. It is a single "attended" log to cover everything you did there.
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I don't get it. What's the point?
And, how can you possibly only spend 2 minutes 30 seconds per cache for a 24 hour period? Unless you found a place where there are 566 png caches with tenth-mile spacing on every one. But that doesn't make any sense either.
To each their own, I guess.
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I haven't been geocaching long and trying to figure out the codes used by geocachers are really creative. I am looking into a local club to meet folks that can help me work out the keys to the codes used.
Just remember... what happens in puzzle club, stays in puzzle club. (i.e. don't post or discuss the answers on the forums)
Using group effort to solve puzzles is a great way to go about it.
If you have a cool code, be it Enigma or whatever, build a puzzle cache and see if others can figure it out.
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Back at ya...
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cture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tcture+Tctu
ext^=>3ext^=>3ext^=>3ext^=>3ext^=>3ext^=>3xt^=>3xt^=>3xt^=>3xt^=>3xt^^=>3xt^^=>3
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o!Pictuo!Pictuo!Pictuo!Picto!Picto!!Picto!PictoPictoPictoPPictoPPictooPPictooPPi
re+Textre+Textre+Textre+Tetre+Tetre+TTetreTTetrTTetrTTetrTTeetrTTeetrrTTeetrrTTe
^=>3D*S^=>3D*S^=>3D*S^=>3*S^=>33S^=>333S^=333S^333S^333S^333S^^333S^^^333S^^^333
tereo!Ptereo!Ptereo!Ptero!Pteero!teero!!tero!!ter!!terr!terr!terrr!teerrr!teerrr
icture+icture+icture+ictre+icctre+ictree+itree+itee+ittee+itee+iitee++iitee++iit
Text^=>Text^=>Text^=>Text^=>Text^=Text^^=Txt^^=Tx^^=Txx^^=Tx^^=TTx^^==TTx^^==TTx
3D*Ster3D*Ster3D*Ster3D*SterD*SterD*StterDStterDSterDSSterDSterDSSterrDSSterrDSS
eo!Picteo!Picteo!Picteo!Picto!Picto!PiictoPiictoPictoPPictoPictoPPicttoPPicttoPP
ure+Texure+Texure+Texure+Texre+Texre+TTexr+TTexr+Texr++Texr+Texr++Texxr++Texxr++
t^=>3D*t^=>3D*t^=>3D*t^=>3D*t^=>3Dt^=>33Dt=>33Dt=33Dt==33Dt=33Dtt=33DDtt=33DDtt=
Stereo!Stereo!Stereo!Steeo!Stteeo!Steeoo!Seeoo!Seoo!Seeoo!Seoo!SSeoo!!SSeoo!!SSe
PicturePicturePicturePicurePiicurPiicurrPicurrPicrrPiccrriccrriiccrriiiccrriiicc
+Text^=+Text^=+Text^=+Tex^=+Tex^=+Tex^^=+Tx^^=+x^^=+x^^=+x^^=++x^^=+++x^^=+++x^^
>3D*Ste>3D*Ste>3D*Ste>3D*Se>3D*Se>3DD*Se>3D*Se>D*Se>D*Se>D*SSe>D*SSe>>D*SSe>>D*S
reo!Picreo!Picreo!Picreo!Pireo!Pireeo!Pireo!Piro!Piro!Piro!!Piro!!Pirro!!Pirro!!
ture+Teture+Teture+Teture+Teture+Teture+Teure+Teure+Teure+Teure+Teuree+Teuree+Te
xt^=>3Dxt^=>3Dxt^=>3Dxt^=>3Dxt^=>3Dxt^=>3Dt^=>3Dt^=>3Dt^=>3Dt^=>3Dt^==>3Dt^==>3D
*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*Stereo*St
!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pictur!Pi
e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+Text^e+T[/size]
Ooooh, that got ugly and lost all formating. Bummer.
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Yes. And my dog even has his own basic account so he can log the caches. Plus he owns a TB and even has a cache hide of his own. He's a smart dog (golden ret).
We just added a rescued black lab pup to the family, so she'll be introduced to geocaching and we'll see if she's good enough to warrant her own BM account.
We occasionally take the lap dog (fox terrier) along on local hunts (that's 3 dogs in the house). But she's not keen on cold weather outings, so more often than not she stays home on guard duty.
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Yeah, you'd think they'd try to sell that point a little harder as they would have many more PM members buying in to support the site if they understood all the benefits they are getting.
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I've got a PVC cache that is mounted on the vertical just like the OP. No problems with moisture or access as I modified the threaded plug so it can't be tightened all the way and remains very loose. Water wicks into tight spaces, not loose ones. Because it is a threaded plug (not a cap) there is no "umbrella" effect with the cache being larger than the plug and having a sharp drip line all the way around the outer edge.
I also have drilled large vent holes at the bottom to allow free air movement. Inside the PVC is a 2-gallon zip-bag with a metal rod taped to the bottom. You roll the bag around the rod to slide it back up into the cache. The instructions are clearly written on the front of the bag. Contents stay perfectly dry.
As for "bombs"... aside from this being in the middle of the wilderness, it is painted to match the host it is straped to and I also engraved "Geocache" in big block letters on the sides. And there is a yellow geocaching.com sticker on it. Ammo cans look much more threatening than this thing.
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That's correct. The gpx format contains the entire listing plus the last 5 logs. Converting an loc to gpx doesn't fix the fact that your original loc download didn't have anything but the coordinates attached.
Having a PM account lets you bulk download caches by gpx and you can also download them one at a time right from the listing or the cache search page. That's helpful for newly published caches that you want to add to your GSAK file or just directly to your GPSr. Having the gpx file in a reader in the field means you never have to print out a cache listing again. Some of the new GPSr's will view the cache description info in the GPS, while the rest of us use things like a Palm Pilot to store thousands of cache listings in our shirt pocket for quick reference on the go.
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Here's a game I invented last summer and used when I hosted my first event. It was very well received. We had 7 teams run it and it worked very well. I think it would be a problem with too many teams trying to run this one. It seems to me that about 6-10 teams is ideal, but then it will depend on how many caches you put out over what geographical area. The following is the setup and function:
Gather up a whole bunch of cache containers. I used two dozen that were mostly little recycled food storage type containers of the "small" size. I also had a few micros and a handful of regulars. Each container got a number starting with A01 and working up with A02, A03, etc. Using the same letter in front of each keeps all the waypoints together on your GPSr when searching through a waypoint list.
Inside of each cache I placed 10 paper "tickets" that I printed up. The ticket had the cache ID number on it and a point value. An example of the point values for the tickets in a cache might be 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2, 1, 1, and 1. But I mixed it up and each cache was randomly different. The harder the hide, the higher the top point value. I had 1 puzzle that was worth 22 points and two multis (2-stage) that were worth 18 points. The rest were traditionals ranging from 16 points down to 5 points for FTF. There was also a log-sheet in each cache.
The just of the game is that you go out and find as many of these caches as you can within a set time limit. Each team may only have ONE GPSr (so they can't divide forces and hunt multiple caches at once). When you find a cache, you look through the tickets inside and pick the one, and only one, ticket that you want (I provided each team with a zip-bag to place their tickets in as they picked them up). You MUST sign the log with your team name and the TIME found. And then you have to rehide the cache as found. As each ticket is serial numbered to the cache it came from, you can't take more than 1 ticket without being discovered (and we had no one try to cheat, but you have checks in place to make that improbable).
I had the complete rules, a listing of all 24 caches with the type, size, D/T rating, and the coordinates. There was also a small map of all the caches, but it had no scale or terrain features on it and just showed the relationship between the hides. The cache ID numbers were very randomly placed. So each team had to determine their own route through the caches and then type in the coordinates for each one along the way.
A few of the caches also had some special tickets in them. One of those was the "Muggle" ticket. You could ignore that ticket and take a point-value ticket OR you can claim the Muggle ticket in which case you MUST take the entire cache with you AFTER you sign and time the log-sheet, of course. You don't get to take a point value ticket from that cache, but you get to take two point value tickets from the next cache you find. If there is a special action ticket in the next cache, you may NOT take it. You can only take points.
Once a cache is Muggled, no one else will be able to find it and thus they waste time searching and don't get any points for their effort. As the muggle tickets are rare and random, you don't know if it is just a tricky hide or if the cache is actually gone.
The other evil ticket that was put in several caches was the Geo-Thief ticket. You could either take a point value ticket or the Geo-Thief ticket, but not both. The Geo-Thief ticket allowed you to steal between 1 and 3 points from another cache team at the end of the game. More on that later.
Those were the only 2 special tickets I had developed when we played this last summer, but I intend to expand the concept and put some more stuff in there to make it even more interesting and give the final point count even more "game" to it.
There is a strict time limit. You want everyone to be working against the clock. Depending on the size of the area, the number of caches you put out, and the number of players, you can make the game run for 1-2 hours. You don't want to give too much time, in fact there should just barely be enough time for an expert cacher who is running from spot to spot to hit every cache you put out. I used a 65-minute time limit (so it ended at the top of the hour) when I ran it and that was just about perfect. We had a "high speed low drag" cacher team (they won the game in the end) and they were able to find 16 out of 24 caches on my course. I had the game spread out in a city park on about 10 acres or so with very easy walking on nice pathways and only minor excursions into the woods to find each cache.
When the time is up, the teams need to be back at the starting point. They start to lose points if they are late. We didn't use it, but the thought was to give a blast on an air horn when there was 5 minutes left and then give a longer blast when the time was up. Anyone not there gets docked 1 point. After 5 minutes overdue, you started losing 1 point per minute. At some time limit (e.g. 15 minutes) any teams not back are disqualified. We didn't have a problem with this and all teams arrived back at the starting point right on schedule.
So, to end the game we "play" the tickets in order. I had a cheat sheet setup with all the caches down the left side and we put the team names across the top. Then I went through the caches 1 by 1 asking for a show of hands on who solved and found puzzle A01 (no one did, so I explained how to solve it, which was followed by a collective "duh"). Then on to who found A02 and show your point ticket from that cache. I go around to each group and write down the point value each picked up. On to the next cache and so on. If they picked up a Muggle ticket, they had to turn in the cache along with the ticket and specify what their next find was that they took 2 tickets from. If they took the Geo-Thief ticket from a cache, they had to "play" that ticket against another team right then and there. That team gets the couple points and we subtract the same number of points from the team that was picked (usually the team that appears to be in the lead at that point).
Once we've worked through the whole cache list, we tally up the total points for each team. The team with the most points gets the prize. In my case I had bought a pocket full of unregistered geocoins and each member of the winning team got to pick one. Additionally, the winning team can get to claim the event as FTF for their stats or whatever other praise you want to give them.
You can view the event I did this at GC1WEA4
As I'm starting to plan some events for this summer, I'm starting to look over this game again to see how I can tweak it here and there to make it even more fun.
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... experience with Android phones is that they are at least as accurate as my old yellow eTrex.
That I believe, since the old yellow eTrex is a very low-grade GPSr that probably uses the same technology as a cell phone. Compare an old eTrex to a modern "x" series GPSr and it is like night and day difference in accuracy. I use a 76CSx and I can record a clear zone waypoint and then navigate back to that spot with arm's length accuracy every time afterward (and not just on the same day). I also have an old eTrex Vista (non-x) and holding the two units side-by-side during such return navigation shows that the eTrex is always wandering around and you're lucky to get within 10-15 feet. Not all GPSr's are equal.
If people use low-grade equipment to hide caches, at least mention it in your description and then accept coordinate updates from the seekers who manage to find the cache.
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To clarify my take a little more... I have zero problem with the BM signing the log in a PMO cache and then logging it online if they found it. It is not a very "tedious" thing to do at all. I do it for a number of BM accounts of family, friends, and even the dog when we go on a group caching trip. Yes, my dog has his own BM account and even owns a hide and a travel bug. I usually have to help him type his logs, but that's OK because I have to be there to access the "backdoor" to the log anyway.
My point was that it is not in the spirit of the reason for PMO caches for a BM to go out and try to deduce the location of PMO caches and find them without GPS or coordinates. This has nothing to do with ALR at all. But those who claim it does are conveniently overlooking the guideline that says that a GPS and set of published coordinates are required to hunt a cache. Pick and choose the rules you want to follow I guess.
As a cache owner, I would never delete the valid log of a BM on my PMO caches... as long as they found the cache. The only time I've had to delete BM logs is when a knucklehead was trying to make waves by posting false FTF logs on any newly published caches. As there was no signature in the cache, the logs were deleted. It was a special case.
In the end, you play the game how you want to. If going outside the lines is how you want to play, so be it. Just realize that in the process you'll probably be irritating all those who play by the rules. But it's just a game. Don't take it so seriously.
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To qualify Google Maps... the accuracy depends on your location. If you are in a big city, the accuracy of the map will be better because they spend more time verifying cities so that their directions features are better. So maybe you'll get 20' accuracy in the city. That's still 4 times more error factor than you'd get with real GPS. I've found many remote areas where the Google basemap is off by over a mile. Then as you get back to a big city, it will be pretty darn close again. Then back into the country and there is the map drift again.
The iPhone has a GPS chip. That will get you close, but is not as accurate as a dedicated GPS unit. People who hide using a phone irritate people who seek using a real GPS because the coordinates are almost always off by 20 feet or more. A GPS will give your coordinates <6' accuracy if you know how to use it. Getting that close with a phone is a shot in the dark. If you hide using a phone, at least pay attention to the attached coordinates logs that people are going to post on the cache. And then enter an adjust coordinates log once you see that those attached coords are correct (e.g. the next couple guys say they are).
Oh yeah, as for the coordinates conversion, if the multiply by 60 thing is too confusing, there is a coordinate converter right there on geocaching.com for you to use between most popular coordinate systems. There's a link to it from every single cache page.
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Be warned that iPhones have terrible accuracy. They might be OK to hunt caches, but never use them to obtain coords for a hide. It will always be wrong. You need a real GPS to hide caches.
Oh, and one more thing... Google maps are usually off by a bit. Never use a Google map to figure out if the waypoint is in the right place. It will give you the right neighborhood, but that's about it.
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The averaging function is often used poorly. You don't want to just turn on averaging and let the GPS sit there to see how many readings it can take. Just a couple "averaged" points that are way off will ruin the final result. It is much better to take about a dozen averaging readings and then verify the location as follows:
First, you need to make sure you turn the GPS on at least 15-20 minutes before you mark a waypoint. It takes awhile for it to download all the satellite data and start using all that info to calculate your position with the greatest accuracy. Turn it on in a clear sky zrea and check the satellite page. You should have a strong, solid bar under every satellite. If some are blinking, wait some more.
Move from the clear area to your cache site and get in the position to get the best sky view to the GPS. Check your satellite page to ensure you still have a good signal.
Press and hold the Enter key (Mark) and when the save waypoint screen pops up, activate the averaging function. Let it work for about 10 to 15 readings and save it. Now, look at the data field on the bottom to see how far it is to the waypoint. If you see that number grow by more than 6-8 feet, activate the average function again. Each time you initiate the average, it will throw out the previous one and start over. Repeat this process a couple times until the waypoint says you are within a couple feet, then save the waypoint.
Walk away. Navigate back to the point you just saved. If it brings you back, it's good to go.
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Curious that you needed to make a sock puppet to post this question.
No, it is not OK for a basic member to hunt a PMO cache by themselves, in the manner you have described. There is a reason it is PMO. You need to either team up with a PM or contribute a few bucks back to Groundspeak and become a PM.
Many of us who put out a PMO cache have no problem with letting a PM bring along basic members and they can all log the cache. For instance, you might have a family that buys just 1 PM account, but each family member may have their own BM account so they can write their own logs. This is generally not a problem and there is an easy method to allow the BM to access the write log function for a PM cache, even though they can't actually see the cache page.
Also, some of us will initially publish a cache as PMO and wait for the FTF or some arbitrary length of time before we remove the PMO status and allow everyone to have full access. This is a way to reward those who give back to the geocaching community by supporting GS (who makes this all possible through the sales of memberships, trackables, and merchandise).
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That is a perfect note to post on a repeat visit.
What "exactly" are people saying is wrong with this note? And are these people the CO? If not, who gives a rip what they say.
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Which is why I think any sort of 'it's takes 2' guideline is more about getting event approval, rather than who actually attended.
Now that actually makes perfect sense.
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That's a good question and one that will have to be worked on before the next one to try and get the word out to the public that an event is taking place. I suppose that is simply a danger in having an event in a very small town during the winter. What more can you do? Event published. One showed. The event still happened and that 1 person still attended. Doesn't seem to be a problem, does it? (which is the whole point... it didn't take 2 to make that event happen)
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I know for a fact that only one person attended a particular event. We were teleconferenced together and only 1 person showed up to 1 of the 4 simultaneous event sites. Prior to these teleconference linked events, we were told by GS HQ that an event is "a gathering of at least 2 cachers". I don't know if it is written in the guidelines somewhere, but it came from the head shed when asked about the event setup before hand.
Hosts most certainly can log their own events. There is no similarity to finding your own cache. Events are not "hidden containers", they are meetings of people. Either you were there, or you weren't. You don't "find" an event, you "attend". Check Websters for the stark difference.
Alaska is not the least populous state. That honor goes to Wyoming. Did you know that if we cut Alaska in half, then Texas would be the third largest state? And we are not an island off the coast of California either. I'm just sayin'. ;-)
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Alaska... unofficially the land of 10 million lakes. There are many caches on islands, both salt and fresh water up this way.
I've found the easiest way to get to them is to wait until December and just walk out. ;-)
That almost seems like cheating.
Hardly. It's called patience and using mother nature to your advantage.
Here's one that is in a swamp that people complained about all summer, but it was a park-n-grab when I stopped for it after the water hardened up... GC1QC0J
Here's one on an island in the world-famous Kenai river that I actually did while the water was still soft using waders to get there... GC1TRTZ
And here's a brand new one that I need to go get next week before the ice starts melting and I have to wait and use a boat... GC22HWE
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Why wouldn't the host post an attended log? If you were there, you attended.
Are the rules different if the OP is from Alaska? Just curious why that came up.
My point in bringing this up is that I don't think the GS position that says an event is a gathering of 2 or more is a perfect fit.
And it did just happen up this way. Event was published by a sock puppet organization, but only 1 person showed up. They posted a will attend in advance and posted the attended log after the event was over. From my perspective, everyone did what is required of them, yet it "technically" doesn't meet the GS definition of an event. Thus I think the 2 or more ruling has a flaw in it, even if it only warrants an exception clause.
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You'll need a lathe, taps, dies, welder, and possibly a milling machine depending on how you'll go about it. After you have all those things and know how to use them, the construction will be stupid-simple.
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Just a topic for ya'll to chew on a little bit. GS has already stated that an event consists of at least 2 cachers meeting at a physical location.
So, let's say you publish and host an event but no one else shows up. So you only had 1 cacher at the location. Do you get to go home and log an "attended event" log? Or does it not even count as an event because no one else arrived to make it "at least 2 cachers"?
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I have a 'decoy' on one of my hides that is very well received. It is not a container, though. It is just a wooden plaque with some prose laminated onto the front that gives them a subtle hint to the location of the cache that is still some 15 feet away. The plaque is under an obvious stick pile that just looks like a poorly constructed hide in the woods. It is on the only approach to the cache, so anyone hunting it has to see this "decoy" first.
I wouldn't use a container as a decoy as that would be too confusing to people. But I think the wooden plaque method works perfectly in certain situations and it clearly isn't a container.
Multi-mystery-cache?
in General geocaching topics
Posted
You can do whatever you want with the puzzle cache type.
You're good as long as each listing clearly describes that you need to physically find cache GCxxxx to get the needed info (puzzle printout) to solve the current puzzle.
I don't have a chained-together series like yours, but I do have a multi that requires you to pick up a paper copy of the "puzzle" and travel to each of several stages to "solve" the final cache location. I also have a puzzle that requires you to first solve 7 other puzzles and visit each of those caches to get the needed info just to solve the final puzzle.
The field is wide open on puzzles.